


A List of Things That Never Happened

by Zyzzyva



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Character Study, M/M, POV Outsider, POV Third Person, be warned if you don't want to read it as pariging, because there's some SERIOUS homoeroticism afoot here, really just them annoying each other because i’m ENAMORED by their dynamic, this was an excuse to practice narration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:00:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26550268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zyzzyva/pseuds/Zyzzyva
Summary: Snapshots in rivalry, and a little bit more.Or: 1000 words of Pariston and Ging annoying one another.
Relationships: Ging Freecs & Pariston Hill, Ging Freecs/Pariston Hill, could be read as - Relationship
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	A List of Things That Never Happened

**Author's Note:**

> so i’ve been into hxh for almost four years now but i’ve never written anything for it, which i still can’t quite believe. i never thought i’d write anything about these two idiots, but all the same i was absolutely _compelled_ to write this! i hope you enjoy!

Somehow, Pariston had convinced Ging that they should spend time together after the Zodiacs’ meeting today. Somehow, Ging had managed to agree. And, somehow, here they were, in Ging’s apartment, with Ging showing him the art on his walls as if they were pals and Ging didn’t want to take that ornamental knife of the wall and stab him through. They made an odd pair, the two of them, pretending to be friends and yet taking every single possible opportunity to make jabs at one another, relishing in the feeling of the other sucking in a breath when it hit too close.

If the Zodiacs were to fight, it had to be done with words, and the two of them were armed to the teeth.

Ging had finally managed to steal away for a few seconds when he offered to get Pariston a book from his room that he simply HAD to read-- it was the most boring thing he had ever read, and he was looking forward to asking Pariston about his progress in the future, already anxious for Pariston’s fingers curling as he promised he was _loving_ it. He snatched himself a few minutes of regulated breathing before he had to go back out and deal with the man again. He wasn’t sure why he’d agreed to this in the first place… was the satisfaction of annoying Pariston enough that he was willing to put up with this?

Yes. 

He grabbed the book and went back to the living room.

Fuck, where was he? After looking around for a few seconds, he noticed Pariston standing on his balcony, looking out over the view. He could smell smoke, and noticed that Pariston had left the balcony door open. He sighed and went to join him.

Pariston either hadn’t realized he was there or was ignoring him-- and both were equally likely-- and was staring out at the view. Ging went to stand next to him and realized the smoke was coming from a cigarette in Pariston’s hand. 

“I didn’t know you smoked,” he said by way of greeting. Pariston turned to give that vapid smile.

“Oh! I don’t,” he replied easily, and Ging grit his teeth. Obviously he’d done his research. In fact, he was surprised it’d taken this long for him to take advantage of this. 

Pariston pulled the box out of the pocket of his gaudy magenta suit and held it out to him. “Would you like one?”

“I quit three years ago,” Ging responded, and pushed it back at him.

Pariston’s eyes widened in faux surprise. “Ah, I’m sorry!” 

He put the box back in his pocket and threw his lit cigarette over the balcony. Ging made some sort of unholy noise and leaned over the rail to check whether Pariston had crossed the line from malicious annoyance to murder and set the complex on fire. After thoroughly making sure he wasn’t about to be a headliner in the newspaper the next day, he leaned back with a sigh.  
Pariston was clearly relishing in his reaction, his smile a bit more genuine than usual.

Ging resisted the urge to shove him over the balcony as well.

They stood in silence for a few moments, and Ging wasn’t quite sure whether he was glad for the reprieve. There was a certain amount of satisfaction in the veiled threats and subtle jabs they made at one another; if either of them had truly disliked the dynamic they had, surely they would’ve pulled away by now. It was exciting, the adrenaline from arguing without the ability to throw blows, and Ging knew they both enjoyed toeing the line.

He stole a glance at the rat, who was staring at the view, and who he knew was in turn sneaking glances at him, as well. It wasn’t often they had the opportunity to be as quiet as they were; they were either in the midst of an argument or being broken up by the other Zodiacs (or both), and it was almost… pleasant.

He took stock of Pariston’s blank smile, and wondered, not for the first time, _who_ Pariston was. He’d never had the chance to meet him before they’d become the Zodiacs, and it grated on him more every day. Ging had never been able to figure out whether Pariston’s facade was a persona created as he became the rat, or if his schadenfreude predated Chairman Netero’s involvement in their lives. 

Sometimes he wondered whether Pariston was a person, or just an amalgamation of horrible traits, and whether that should make him sadder than it did.

Pariston was staring at him unabashedly now with an odd expression in his eyes. In all the time he’d known him, he still only barely knew how to read him beyond expressions such as ‘gleeful satisfaction’ and ‘I hate your guts, but I’m going to pretend I don’t.’ Sometimes he even got genuine happiness if he was lucky. 

But of everyone, Ging still knew he understood the man best.

“What are you thinking about?” Pariston asked pleasantly, but Ging could hear the suspicion in his voice.

“You,” he answered honestly, shifting and fixing his gaze on the view instead.

“Oh?” Ging tasted poison in his tone. “What about me?”

Ging looked him in the eyes. Not many people knew that Pariston was horrible at eye contact, but he knew. It told too much. “Why did you take the Chairman up on his offer?”

It was only a few seconds before Pariston looked away, but his voice stayed just as steady. “To become a Zodiac or his right-hand man?”

Ging shrugged. “Whichever.”

Pariston let out a pathetic excuse of a chuckle. “Why are you asking if you don’t care?”

“Maybe I just want to know you,” Ging answered. He wasn’t sure if he was being honest or just taking the quickest route to annoy Pariston, who was clearly bristling.

Pariston made some sort of noise between a hum and a growl. “You’ll just have to wait, then.”

Ging has never been good at waiting. He wanted everything the moment he can get it, and now. And this isn’t any different-- he wanted to know everything about Pariston, wanted to consume him, and wanted, most importantly, to understand him; wanted to peel back his layers and know every ugly little detail. 

But he knew he wasn’t gonna get it. He gritted his teeth. Pariston had evaded him that long, and he had no doubts he was going to continue.

He felt adrenaline coursing through his veins, felt his Nen welling, and pushed it down. This is the best part of their dance, the cat and mouse. Ging may have the upper hand now, but he had no doubt the other boot’s gonna come down soon enough.

“I guess so,” he grumbled. “Why don’t you show yourself out.”

And, to his surprise, Pariston did.

Around five minutes after Pariston left, he realized he hadn’t given him the damn book. 

He threw it over the balcony to join that stupid cigarette.

**Author's Note:**

> i might add more chapters to this in the future if i feel so compelled!
> 
> i realized while i was writing this that l and light and pariston and ging are lowkey the same character in different fonts and i hate that. like they both thrive off prodding each other and trying to psyche the other out. i suppose it explains why i'm so interested in these two (being pariston and ging)...
> 
> also! i was very inspired by the way okayantigone writes pariston, so i'd encourage you to check out their works!!
> 
> please feel free to check me out on tumblr if you'd like to talk about the fic or anything else pariging-related: @mlmhisoka (also, you can find my ko-fi there!)


End file.
